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Topic Review (Newest First)

07-09-2005 04:09 PM

britguyinmt

hi,
thanks guys, i managed to catch a three inch pikeminnow with this
method and will use it some more, hopefully to catch a trout hehe

christopher, thanks for asking. Ive actually hardly heard from any of my
friends and family in london this week, normally i do a lot. When i was
living in london at the beginning of the year i used to travel to work
on the trains there in the rush hour, and the whole area is so busy,
so it must have been horrendous.

lance

07-09-2005 12:59 PM

teflon_jones

A non-drag free drift may be the most underrated thing in fly fishing IMHO. It's still very important to learn a drag-free drift, but you really don't use it as much as most other retrieves/casts/methods unless you're really a pure dry fly fisherman.

07-09-2005 10:12 AM

MJC

The skated upstream caddis has been my go to method on the Clearwater in Idaho for many years. I've also used it in Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, and Utah. When I tell people of this method they think I'm nuts because as Flytyer says the drag free drift has been the mantra of most of the trout fly writers for years

07-08-2005 01:35 PM

flytyer

fcch,

It is very much a real tactic that is very effective as you found when caddis are egg-laying. I suspect the reason it is rarely heard of, talked about, or seen in use is we have it drummed into us by books, magazines, fly fishing instructors, fly fishing friends, etc. to make sure you get a "drag free drift" when fishing dries or you will either put the fish down or have them ignore your fly.

07-08-2005 01:15 PM

fcch

Flytier,

I didn't know this was a real tactic.

I learned it 'cause I couldn't control my line's drag (well, I eventually did )

Now I still use it lots on my homewaters.

BritGuyMT,

Hope your family and associates back home are safe

06-20-2005 02:53 PM

flytyer

britguyinmt,

As conterintuitive as it sounds, fishing an elk hair caddis on a downtream and acrross drift with intentional drag (i.e. just like waking a dry for salmon or steelhead) during an egg-laying flight does not spook fish. This is because the naturals are moving cross-stream as the lay their eggs. Most fishermen never become aware of this because the caddis flies are small (#14-#24) and don't make much commotion.

Unfortunately, when fishermen sees trout rising, they almost automatically assume they must use a drag-free drift like you would with mayfly duns or spinners because that is what most of the fly fishing literature says to do. However, caddis flies do not behave like mayflies, so using the skated presentation is appropriate since it imitates the behavior of the egg-laying natural.

During the 12 years I lived in Montana, the skated elk hair caddis was guaranteed to catch fish during a caddis egg-laying flight in the late afternoon/evening. Surprisingly, I saw very few fisherman doing so despite its obvious effectiveness with those who did.

06-20-2005 11:02 AM

britguyinmt

ah.... and the fish dont get spooked...nice.

I'll certainly give it a go
thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by flytyer

More times than not the "hatch" the trout are feeding on during summer evenings on Montana rivers is a caddis returning flight. During the 12 years I lived in Montana, I found the most consistent and reliable way to catch trout feeding on caddis egg-laying flights was by fishing an elk hair caddis with intentional drag. Do this by casting downtream 45 degrees and put a downstream mend in the line to purposely induce a cross current drag. The most common caddis in Montana summers is the Hydropsyche, which is tan in color and imitated by a tan elk hair caddis on a #14 or #16 hook. The second most common caddis is imitated by a #16 olive bodied elk hair caddis. And when an elk hair caddis is fished with intentional cross stream drag, it stays afloat from the water tension on the wing stubb regardless whether it has floatant on it or not.

As far as household stuff to put on flies to help them float, Scotchguard water repellent is excellent. Spray some on the night before and a single false cast causes the water to leave the fly.

06-20-2005 10:48 AM

teflon_jones

Fishing for salmon on Saturday, most of the takes on the dry flies we were using were after the fly submerged and we started to drag them back upstream.

06-14-2005 05:17 PM

flytyer

More times than not the "hatch" the trout are feeding on during summer evenings on Montana rivers is a caddis returning flight. During the 12 years I lived in Montana, I found the most consistent and reliable way to catch trout feeding on caddis egg-laying flights was by fishing an elk hair caddis with intentional drag. Do this by casting downtream 45 degrees and put a downstream mend in the line to purposely induce a cross current drag. The most common caddis in Montana summers is the Hydropsyche, which is tan in color and imitated by a tan elk hair caddis on a #14 or #16 hook. The second most common caddis is imitated by a #16 olive bodied elk hair caddis. And when an elk hair caddis is fished with intentional cross stream drag, it stays afloat from the water tension on the wing stubb regardless whether it has floatant on it or not.

As far as household stuff to put on flies to help them float, Scotchguard water repellent is excellent. Spray some on the night before and a single false cast causes the water to leave the fly.

06-14-2005 12:11 AM

britguyinmt

hehe....good to know

i like the idea of treating the ones in my box before hand.
I missed out as heavy rains stopped my fishing dead, but
hopefully the river will be better at the end of the week.

06-13-2005 06:41 PM

FLGator

Another trick is to treat all of your dries at home with floatant so all of the ones in your box are ready to fish. I have heard of guys using scotchguard but never tried it myself.
Chris

06-13-2005 04:46 PM

Nooksack Mac

Those precious bodily fluids

An old-timer's remedy is to rub the fly against the side of one's nose, or behind one's ear, to pick up enough skin oil to temporarily float the fly.

05-28-2005 09:30 AM

fcch

Brit,

I would have used the dry even without floatant.

I use floatant to KEEP the fly floating. We can do without it too. A few good false casts will usually get a soaked fly to float a bit. Most good to fair quality dry flies will float quite well (for a while).

When we see rises, it doen't ALWAYS mean the trout are taking "dries" off the surface. They could be going for stuff just a fraction of an inche UNDER the surface. A "drowned" dry fly will often work well too.

05-28-2005 09:14 AM

britguyinmt

excrutiating...

Hi,
I was out yesterday evening on the river behind my house, and while i was fishing the trout started to rise. I found the perfect fly, but realised id lost my floatent, so couldnt fish it. I tried a few wets in frustration, but didnt get as much as a bite, eventually i even swapped to my <dare i say it> spinning rod (as fish are rising a few metres from me) but to no avail... eventually i gave up as it got dark ready to do battle again tonight. Out of interest is there anything household one could use as a floatent if i ever found myself in the same position? Probably not, but id be interested.
thanks